Alaska Highway, formerly Alcan Highway, road (1,523 miles [2,451 km] long) through the Yukon, connecting Dawson Creek, B.C., with Fairbanks, Alaska. It was previously called the Alaskan International Highway, the Alaska Military Highway, and the Alcan (Alaska-Canadian) Highway. It was constructed by U.S. Army engineers (March-November 1942) at a cost of $135 million as an emergency war measure to provide an overland military supply route to Alaska. The Canadian part (1,200 miles [1,930 km], mostly gravel) was turned over to Canada in 1946. A scenic route open all year round, it joins highways to Edmonton and Prince George (in the south) and highways to Valdez, Anchorage, Seward, and Haines (in the north).

Bridge over the Tanana River, Alaska Highway, south of Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S.

jkbrooks85

Learn More in these related articles:

...In the American north there is only one railway, the Alaska Railroad, which runs from the port of Seward on the south coast to Fairbanks in the interior. There are more roads, chief among them the Alaska Highway, which traverses Yukon to provide a land link between the continental United States and Alaska, which was thought to be essential in World War II. A Canadian branch off this road, the...

in Alaska

...II, Japanese forces invaded Agattu, Attu, and Kiska islands in the Aleutian chain and bombed Dutch Harbor on Unalaska. This aggression prompted the construction of large airfields, as well as the Alaska Highway, more than 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of road linking Dawson Creek, B.C., with Fairbanks. Both proved later to be of immense value in the commercial development of the state.

...Ocean. The highway becomes more remote and rugged as it heads north, and the public is restricted in its use of that highway north of Disaster Creek (211 miles [340 km] from its starting point). The Alaska Highway was built during World War II and has been significantly improved by both Canada and the United States. It connects Dawson Creek, British Columbia, with Fairbanks.

Britannica Web sites

The only land route between Alaska and the rest of the mainland United States is the Alaska Highway. Most of it is in Canada. It begins at Dawson Creek, B.C., stretches north 1,221 miles (1,965 kilometers) through British Columbia and Yukon Territory, then crosses the Alaska border. It runs 207 miles (333 kilometers) to Big Delta, where it connects with the Richardson Highway and extends 95 miles (153 kilometers) to Fairbanks. The total length from Dawson Creek to Fairbanks is 1,523 miles (2,451 kilometers).